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Skip the Resolutions, Organize Your Job Search

Tis the season, big resolutions for the new year are all the talk. And for most people, talk is all that they remain.

Don’t bother with resolutions for your job search.

Instead take a couple of simple actions.

1. Make a list.

Do a brain dump of everything you think you need to do for your search. Get it all out there. Be as detailed as you can be. Maybe you need to write, revise, and get other opinions on your resume and revise it again. That is four items for your list. Or you need to start your target selection – that is easily a large number of steps as you think about potential organizations which match your interests, research them, find others, research them, contact people you know to learn more about specific organizations, and so on. If you are well into your search, you might include updating your resume on job boards like ours and re-connecting with people about your search.

Let your list ‘cool’ overnight. Next day, give yourself 15 minutes and go through the list. Add anything you missed. Delete anything irrelevant or repetitive.

Then, create a master list that covers all the things you need to do. Better yet, organize your list into logical sequence. Start with the things which need to be done first. Put supporting tasks in between major steps.

2. Commit to doing one thing on your list every day, starting the day after you complete your list. Each morning, look at your list and figure out what you need to do from it that day. Then DO IT!

3. As you complete each thing on your list, put a line through it and date it.

This process will help you move forward. It is all listed out, so your mind can relax a bit about the ‘too much to do’ feeling that overwhelms many of us when we look for a new opportunity. It is only one thing to do each day in brain terms, so your mind can accept that as ‘do-able’. And each time you cross something off, your mind will see an achievement and help you feel as if you are making progress.

So, no resolutions! Just one list and a set of action steps. You can do that!

Patra Frame is ClearedJobs.Net’s HR Specialist. She is an experienced human resources executive and founder of Strategies for Human Resources.